Republicans reportedly compiled a 349-page opposition research file on Wisconsin Democrat Francesca Hong before she lost the state’s gubernatorial primary Tuesday.
The research was prepared by Republican Tom Tiffany’s campaign in anticipation of facing Hong in the November election, according to Puck News. A source provided the outlet with the full document after Hong’s defeat.
The file, marked “privileged and confidential,” detailed years of Hong’s statements and votes on policing, immigration, race, transgender issues and other policies Republicans planned to use against her.
Hong, a state lawmaker from Madison and member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), had already faced criticism during the primary over past calls to defund police and remarks about canceling Thanksgiving and white supremacy.
The Republican research went much further. The documents detailed a 2020 statement in which Hong described gentrification as “violence” against black residents. A year later, she backed a resolution declaring systemic racism a “public health crisis” and calling for an “equity-oriented country and society.”
Hong also previously listed her location on X as “occupied Ho-Chunk Land” instead of Madison. The file documented Hong’s past comments about law enforcement, including her calls to dismantle what she called the “carceral system.” She also described police as part of a system rooted in white supremacy.
Immigration was another potential line of attack. Hong has publicly supported abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to the research, she also referred to ICE agents as “terrorists” and “fascists.”
At a 2021 rally in Madison, Hong said all immigrants should receive citizenship. Republicans also devoted 10 pages of the file to Hong’s record on transgender and gender-related policies.
Hong backed a taxpayer-funded task force in 2021 to examine barriers facing intersex and “gender nonconforming individuals.” She used the term “pregnant people” in 2022. In 2023, Hong voted against legislation that would have prohibited sex-change surgeries on minors. She also supported making Dane County a sanctuary for transgender and nonbinary residents.
Hong opposed legislation that would require public school sports teams to be classified as male, female or co-ed.
Many of those positions were taken while Hong represented Madison, a heavily progressive area. Republicans were preparing to put those positions before voters statewide if she won the Democrat nomination.
Hong’s primary defeat means Tiffany’s campaign will not get the matchup it had prepared for, leaving much of the extensive opposition research unused.
